The Key Factor
by Doggiegal
Summary: [365 days, one couple. Cloti] Suddenly, a whole other sickness was on her mind…one that she herself had come down with. [Jan. 1 to Jan. 3 completed]
1. 001: Bedmates

_Bedmates_

Written by Doggiegal

Cloud had been here for New Year's Eve on request. Tifa and the kids had all but begged him to stay, and well…he couldn't help but give in. He would never admit it, but he was a sucker when it came to his make-shift family. He had zoomed over here on that motorcycle of his, fondly known as Fenrir, to join Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene in welcoming in the new year.

The kids had managed to stay up past midnight, as tradition dictated, but they were out like lights as soon as the bed problem was fixed. When the children had been properly tucked in their own beds and been read their bedtime story, they had protested, stating that they wanted to sleep with Cloud and Tifa. After unsuccessfully trying to work out some other alternative, they had finally consented to pushing two beds together, and the four of them had slept together peacefully.

Which, of course, explained why Cloud woke up with three other people sharing the same bed as him. At first, he had been shocked and confused, but looking over at Denzel curled up into him on his left, and Tifa on his right, with Marlene on the other side of him, he remembered it all.

And, to be honest, he realized that he didn't really mind having Tifa resting her head on his shoulder, or Denzel's legs intertwined with his, or Marlene's occasional soft sighs. In fact, this was actually quite comfortable.

"A gil for your thoughts?" a soft voice whispers, and he looks over to see that Tifa is up, albeit a bit groggy. He gives her a soft smile, something, she muses, that he should do more often.

"It's nothing," he mutters, and she does him the favor of not pressuring him into telling her. She knows there are things he is not quite ready to tell her, or anyone, for that matter. Tifa knows, and she is more than willing to wait for him…even if her feelings towards him are known solely to herself at this point.

"Aren't they adorable?" Tifa asks, tenderly running her hand through Marlene's hair, triggering something inside of Cloud that he couldn't quite name. Instead of trying to figure it out, he instead ruffled Denzel's hair and nodded. "Mmm…I should probably get up and make breakfast."

"Probably," Cloud agreed, but made no effort to move his arm from its place around her shoulders (how had that happened again? He wasn't quite sure), just as she made no effort to get up. Neither wanted to spoil the moment. Neither quite realized it at the time, but this was how they wanted things to be. One big family, through thick or thin.

Denzel opened an eye at the two adults, and Tifa leaned over Cloud to press a kiss to his forehead. Cloud had to bite his lip to distract him from the thought that Tifa felt good pressed against him; these thoughts were unnecessary and improper, especially in this situation. Instead, he smiled at Denzel, trying to ignore Tifa until she returned to her former spot.

"Have a good night's rest, Denzel?" The young boy nodded, sheepishly brushing his scraggly hair out of his eyes. His hero just shook his head, knowing that it would take a while for him to get back to his usual sleeping habits. As it was, the two children would probably be very tired later on today.

As if on queue, Marlene, the youngest of the four, yawned and shifted against Tifa, smiling contentedly. Tifa softly smiled at the young girl, greeting her kindly. Being a mother suited her well, Cloud noticed, and he couldn't help but imagine Tifa cuddling their own child. He shook his head; they were no more than friends. This was just wishful thinking.

Tifa ushered the two children out of bed before finally getting up herself, and as soon as she left his side, Cloud mourned the loss of her presence. "Go get dressed, you two," she ordered the children, who did just as she said because they knew the troubles they'd be in otherwise. She too made for the door, but before she opened it, she turned back around.

"Oh—I almost forgot. Good morning, Cloud." He just nodded in response.

* * *

**_Author's Note: Because I am crazy, I signed up to do 365 Cloti stories, one for each day of a year. This one's January 1st, of course. The prompt for this one was_ Good Morning**

**_-Doggiegal_**


	2. 002: Hotel Hissy Fit

_Hotel Hissy-Fit_

Written by Doggiegal

"Cloud! Tifa! Denzel's cheating!" Marlene pouted, crossing her arms childishly. The world savior and bartender, respectively, turned to face the girl who was like an adopted daughter to them. Honestly. So when they told her for the fourth time that no, she _did_ have to pay Denzel just as he asked, they were as patient as possible with her.

Honestly.

When it came to Monopoly, Tifa and Denzel were by far the best. Marlene had a bad habit of refusing to pay fines for landing on others' spaces, and would complain if she lost the game. Cloud usually squandered all his money too quickly by buying up every place he could and by building houses and hotels, so when he landed on one of the others' spaces, he would often be out of money and lose the game. Plus, he had a habit of winding up in Jail a lot, for various reasons.

Denzel usually wound up winning, if only because Tifa would let him. But this time, it wasn't her he was fighting—it was Marlene, and he had to be careful. Tifa and Cloud were busy engrossed in their own game (using the regular edition instead of their Pokemon one), and they didn't like being bothered. Especially Cloud, who blamed all his mistakes on the racket they were making instead of the fact that, when she wasn't looking, he was just staring at Tifa instead of focusing on the game. In fact, to the kids it seemed to be more of a staring contest than an actual Monopoly game for the two adults, although their eyes never met. One would sneak a peek at the other when they weren't looking.

"Den-_zel_! That's so unfair! You can't put a hotel there!" He shushed her down, explaining the rules for putting down a hotel and showing her that he had clearly followed them. She gave him a 'hmmph', crossing her arms and lifting her nose childishly. She wasn't going to admit that Denzel was making a perfectly legal move if it meant that he was going to win. He nervously glanced over at the adults, noticing that Cloud was giving them the evil eye. Granted, Denzel knew that Cloud would never actually _hurt_ them or anything as ridiculous as that, but they still didn't want to disappoint or annoy him.

"Marlene, are you okay?" Tifa looked over at them worriedly, although she didn't actually move from her spot next to Cloud. Funny that, seeing as how they were sitting really close together when they have the whole board to themselves. Denzel and Marlene later on realized that this was a major victory for Operation: Family, but at the time Monopoly had taken precedence in their thoughts.

"Tee-fuh," the little girl said, drawing out the young woman's name, "Denzel's not playing fair!" At Denzel's frown and Tifa's confused stare, she huffed again and stood up. "I don't want to play anymore," she complained. She got up, childishly shoving over the board and scattering the pieces. It took a couple of seconds for the other three to process the six-year-old's actions.

The two adults got up, frowns on their faces. Tifa went to talk to Marlene, explaining to her that this was not proper behavior and telling her that she'd have to go to her room. Cloud, on the other hand, came over to help Denzel clean up. They worked in silence as the two women went upstairs to discuss punishments and the like.

"What happened?" Denzel turned to face Cloud in slight surprise; it was extremely rare for the blonde swordsman to instigate a conversation.

"I was winning, and she wasn't very happy." Obviously. Man, he felt somewhat embarrassed for having said that. Trying to cover it up so as to save face in front of his hero, he added, "She doesn't know the rules for putting down a hotel or things like that."

Cloud nodded quietly. "I understand how that is. Maybe it would have been better for you and Tifa to have played together, seeing as how you two are so much better than we are." Somehow, Denzel got the feeling that no, it was better this way. Or at least Cloud had thought so, even if his words seemed to say otherwise.

"Maybe we should play something else next time, like Sorry! or Clue or something," he suggested, knowing that he wouldn't give up these family game nights for the world. Even if it meant that he had to deal with constant tantrums from Marlene.

Finished with putting the two Monopoly games away, Cloud nodded and picked them up, ready to leave the room. Before he had a chance to do so, however, Denzel asked him a simple question.

"Did you win, Cloud?" It took him a minute to answer, sorting through his memories of the night. Tifa had been adorable when focusing on what move to make next, and he felt like the game had made them better friends, judging from the conversation they had been having. He had also truly felt like they were a family, similar to the way he had felt yesterday morning.

"Yes I did, Denzel," was his answer.

* * *

**Author's Note: It's just a lot easier to put all the prompts in one story than to make 365 separate ones. The prompt for this one was "Cheating", and I figure Marlene is still young enough to get upset about that kind of thing, seeing as how I can remember when he was that little. Well, I hope you found it to be satisfactory!**

**-Doggiegal**


	3. 003: Escapee

**Fandom**: Final Fantasy VII post-Advent Children, but as if Dirge of Cerberus never happened  
**Pairing**: Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart  
**Title**: Escapee  
**Author**: boptothebeat  
**Day**: January 3rd  
**Prompt**: 17. Sickness  
**Rating**: PG  
**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. Except for maybe the "barkies". That was something from my childhood. Cloud and Tifa belong to Square-Enix.

"Tifa, I'm going to go make a delivery to Kalm, so I should be back later on in the day." Cloud shifted from side to side nervously, unsure as to what the brunette barmaid's reaction to his announcement would be. Odds are, it wouldn't be very good. But they needed money, and Tifa had insisted on closing the bar down when Denzel had woken them up with violent coughs and sneezes. Tifa gave him some cold medicine, but insisted that he stayed in bed until he got better.

Marlene, being the little she-devil she was, teased Denzel about his inability to leave the safety of his covers and his "barkies". "Barkies" were what the children called the loud, painful sounding coughs that Denzel was suffering from at the moment. Denzel, in response to this teasing, generally just chucked one of his pillows at her. She would dodge it easily, his aim off due to the medicine, and stick her tongue out at him. Unfortunately for Denzel, she tired of this easily and soon went off to entertain herself elsewhere.

Denzel hated getting sick. Lying in bed while Marlene got to go out and play seemed hardly fair to him, especially when he had been bedridden so often due to the Geostigma. The way he saw it, he had spent enough time lying around feeling icky to last him a lifetime. So, on this particular day, he waited until Tifa was busy with the bar and Cloud was off on the delivery and Marlene was playing with dolls in her room before stealthily sneaking out.

Well, as stealthily as a nine-year-old could get, anyways. He was a far cry from undetectable, the opening and closing of the back door being perfectly audible for anyone listening to hear. Luckily for the boy, Tifa was too busy speaking with a patron to realize that he had left his room, nevertheless the bar itself.

_Yes. Freedom._ Denzel was breaking all the rules now, wearing his regular short-sleeved clothing although it was raining outdoors. Sure he was bound to be even sicker the next day, but to him it was totally worth it. Playing in the rain was to every kid's enjoyment, and he was no different. However, the same goes for his lack of future planning.

He hadn't counted on Marlene going in to ask if he needed anything, or her tattling on him to Tifa. And he certainly wasn't expecting the bar maid to come outside and all but force him inside, muttering about how he was likely to kill himself someday.

However, these were all trumped when Cloud came home and heard what had transpired. He regretted going on a delivery so soon, especially when they had been doing so well as an actual family the last couple of days. Sure, Marlene had ended it all with one of her infamous tantrums, but that was to be expected. She was only six, after all.

The blonde swordsman chastised the young boy for not only disobeying Tifa but for worrying her as well. Heaven knew she found enough things to worry about without their combined stupidity. He made an agreement with Denzel, both promising to do their best to help lighten the woman's load. They both loved her (although Cloud didn't admit that his love was more in a romantic sense than the type Denzel had for her), and it was about time they started showing it.

After getting Denzel all situated, Cloud exited the room to find Tifa leaning on the adjacent wall, waiting for him. She gave him a grin, and he managed a small smile in response. "Well?" she asked, eyes scanning his face for a hint of what had just transpired in that room only moments before. He just smiled softly and shook his head, knowing that he'd tell her someday, but not now. He wasn't confident enough—in himself, in her feelings for him.

"Did he give you much trouble?" she offered, trying to jump-start the conversation in a similar manner to the way one might respond to a dead car battery. Cloud shook his head, only frustrating her further. Did he care about this family at all? At this point, she wasn't sure. One moment he'd be all comfortable and fatherly, and the next he'd be pushing them away. She was about ready to throw in the towel.

Sighing, she was about to go back to her room when a hand darted out and snatched her wrist. Confused, she turned back to face him, and somehow wound up wrapped in his arms. Suddenly, a whole other sickness was on her mind…one that she herself had come down with. _Love_.

It was actually kind of funny, considering how he disappointed and hurt her so often, but she knew that he had a soft sensitive side underneath that tough warrior exterior. Unfortunately, that sensitive side was devoted to Aeris, and now that she was dead…so was that side of him. Tifa had absolutely _no_ chance with him, and yet…she couldn't help but hope. Hope, pray, and imagine.

Laying her head on his chest, she breathed in, smelling his special smell. It was times like this that it was so easy to pretend that they were two young lovers in a loving embrace instead of two close friends who secretly pined for one another in a friendly hug. Cloud ran a hand through her hair, just reveling in her closeness.

Yeah, they were both delirious with love.


End file.
